Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 276, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 8, 2001, 8:18 PM CDT for 5 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 57 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 8, 2001, 8:18 PM CDT (01:18 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 8, 2001, 9:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 57 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Kittson County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Roseau County, MN
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:19 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 8:56 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 69 M | Crookston Muni Arpt, MN | A 79 mph wind gust was measured at the Crookston airport. |
| Aug 8, 8:56 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Crookston, MN | Many trees and powerlines were blown down and several buildings were damaged. One tree fell on a car, totalling it. A portion of a brick building was blown over. |
| Aug 8, 9:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Thief River Falls, MN | Numerous trees were blown down. |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 6:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 239 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1405 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -81 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1530 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 50 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -17 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 3.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
650 WUUS53 KFGF 090118 SVRFAR MNC069-089-113-119-125-135-090215- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS 818 PM CDT WED AUG 8 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN KITTSON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA... CENTRAL MARSHALL COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA... WESTERN PENNINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA... WESTERN POLK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA... NORTHWESTERN RED LAKE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND SOUTHWESTERN ROSEAU COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. INCLUDING THE CITY OF THIEF RIVER FALLS... * UNTIL 915 PM CDT. * AT 814 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE LEADING EDGE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF THIEF RIVER FALLS TO 11 MILES NORTH OF GRAND FORKS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. * SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR... STRANDQUIST AT 820 PM... WARREN AT 825 PM... RADIUM AT 830 PM... ANGUS AT 835 PM AND CROOKSTON AT 910 PM. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. LAT...LON 4864 9659 4783 9694 4749 9661 4865 9580 $$ DTR NNNN
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 8, 2:02 PM CDT, 6 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 8, 2:02 PM CDT, 6 hours 16 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 202 PM CDT WED AUG 8 2001 ...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE THIS PACKAGE IS CONVECTION WITH FROPA AND THEN EXTENT OF COOLDOWN THEREAFTER... .CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW... 18Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED DOUBLE BARREL LOW STRUCTURE FROM EXTREME SOUTHEAST MB PROVINCE TO NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. SCATTERED CONVECTION FIRING AHEAD OF FEATURE AND ASSOCIATED TROUGH FROM EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA INTO MINNESOTA IN CONJUNCTION WITH STRONG SURFACE-850MB WAA PUNCH...PER KMVX RADAR. FURTHER UPSTREAM PARENT COLD FRONT WAS EVIDENT OVER NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA WITH GOOD PRESSURE RISES NOTED IN WAKE OF BOUNDARY OVER MONTANA AND SASK PROVINCE. .FORECAST DETAILS... THE GOOD NEWS IS MUCH WELCOME AND PROLONGED RELIEF ON THE WAY IN THE FORM OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. HOWEVER...INITIALLY WE WILL HAVE TO THE PAY THE PIPER IN THE PRICE OF SEVERE STORM THREAT THIS AFTN/EVE AS INCREASING MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE AND MID-LEVEL COOLING ENHANCES CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL IN CONJUNCTION WITH FROPA. SEE SPC SWODY1 FOR FURTHER DETAILS. EXPECT POP THREAT TO END FROM NW TO SE TONIGHT. ALIGNED FLOW AND TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT SHOULD LEAD TO ACTIVE NORTHWEST FLOW LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY AS MUCH COOLER AND LESS HUMID AIR ADVECTS INTO THE REGION. LINGERING CYCLONIC FLOW COUPLED WITH GOOD THICKNESS COOLING PROBABLY WILL LEAD TO DIURNAL DRIVEN BROKEN CU DECK FORMATION ON THURSDAY. THESE FACTORS SHOULD RESULT IN THE MERCURY STRUGGLING TO RISE MUCH OUT OF THE LOW TO MID 70S. WILL MAKE GAME TIME DECISION ON WHETHER TO LINGER HEAT ADVISORY THIS EVENING ACROSS SOUTHEAST ZONES. .EXTENDED...UPPER LOW DROPS SOUTHEAST INTO LOWER HUDSON BAY BY EARLY MONDAY WITH NORTHERN PLAINS UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME. PATTERN SHIFTS A BIT TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD AS ANOTHER LOW PROGGED TO DROP INTO THE PACIFIC NW WITH UPPER RIDGE STARTING TO REBUILD OVER THE CENTRAL US. SEVERAL WEAK WAVES IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW SAT NIGHT AND SUN MAY BRING A FEW SHOWERS. MRF HINTING AT OVERNIGHT CONVECTION MON NIGHT/EARLY TUE...BUT THIS IS A BIG CHANGE FROM YESTERDAY AND WILL LEAVE DRY FOR NOW. MEX/FMR NUMBERS SHOWING BELOW NORMAL TEMPS EARLY TRENDING BACK TOWARD NORMAL LATE IN THE PERIOD WHICH LOOKS REASONABLE. .FGF...HEAT ADVISORY THIS EVENING ALONG AND SOUTH OF A FAR-PKD LINE. BERG/GODON
In the hours before
Local storm report, Aug 8, 2:45 PM CDT, 5 hours 33 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
245 PM CDT WED AUG 08 2001
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1250 AM BUFFALO ND 67 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01 CASS MEASURED AT NORTH DAKOTA
DOT SITE
0120 AM HOPE ND WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 STEELE NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
0120 AM HOPE ND .75 INCH HAIL
08/08/01 STEELE
0120 AM HILLSBORO ND 110 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01 TRAILL SUSTAINED 100 MPH WINDS
WITH GUST TO 110 MPH
MEASURED BY DAVIS SYSTEM
0120 AM HILLSBORO ND WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 TRAILL 2400 TREES DOWN ALONG WITH
23 MILES OF POWER LINES IN
TOWN. 7 RAIL CARS TIPPED
OVER NEAR CRYSTAL SUGAR
PLANT
0120 AM GRANDIN ND WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 CASS 2 LARGE GRAIN BINS DOWN
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
0130 AM HALSTAD MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 NORMAN NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. ROOF
TORN OFF POTATO WAREHOUSE
0145 AM 4 NE GEORGETOWN MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 CLAY NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
0215 AM MAPLE BAY MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 POLK NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. TREE
FELL ON CABIN. NUMEROUS
BOAT DOCKS TIPPED OVER
WITH BOATS LOOSE ON LAKE
0230 AM ERSKINE MN MOBILE HOME DESTROYED
08/08/01 POLK STORAGE SHED DESTOYED
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
0230 AM 3 S BROOKS MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 RED LAKE NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
0230 AM 4 SE GARY MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 NORMAN 5 INCH DIAMETER TREE
BRANCHES DOWN
0245 AM OGEMA MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 BECKER 6 INCH DIAMETER TREE
BRANCHES DOWN
0250 AM 7 W DEVILS LAKE ND .75 INCH HAIL
08/08/01 RAMSEY
0300 AM 9 SE LAKE GEORGE MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 HUBBARD 2 FT DIAMETER TREES DOWN
0300 AM TWO INLETS MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 BECKER 2 INCH DIAMETER TREE
BRANCHES DOWN
0315 AM BEMIDJI ARPT MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 BELTRAMI POWER LINES DOWN. KNOCKED
OUT BJI AWOS
0330 AM 2 SE LARIMORE ND WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 GRAND FORKS 3 INCH DIAMETER TREE
BRANCHES DOWN
NNNNLocal storm report, Aug 8, 7:22 PM CDT, 56 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
722 PM CDT WED AUG 08 2001
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0245 PM 6 NW PONSFORD MN 60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01 BECKER
0339 PM AKELEY MN 62 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01 HUBBARD MEASURED MN DOT
ROADSIDE SITE
0340 PM PARK RAPIDS MN WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 HUBBARD NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
0600 PM 2 SW MADDOCK ND 1 INCH HAIL
08/08/01 BENSON
0620 PM 4 SW ESMOND ND 1 INCH HAIL
08/08/01 BENSON
0620 PM 9 NW MADDOCK ND .88 INCH HAIL
08/08/01 BENSON 4 INCH DIAMETER TREE
BRANCHES ALSO DOWN
0623 PM 5 NE MADDOCK ND .75 INCH HAIL
08/08/01 BENSON 4 INCH DIAMETER TREE
BRANCHES ALSO DOWN
0640 PM 4 NW OBERON ND WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01 BENSON 2 TREES BLOWN DOWN
NNNNThe office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 7:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Marshall | 46 min |
| Aug 8, 8:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Red Lake | 57 min |
| Aug 8, 8:47 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FGF | Polk | 6 hr |
| Aug 8, 9:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Norman | 42 min |
| Aug 8, 9:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clearwater, Mahnomen, Polk | 65 min |
| Aug 8, 9:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Beltrami, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake | 65 min |
| Aug 8, 9:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Lake of the Woods | 42 min |
| Aug 8, 9:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clay | 64 min |
| Aug 8, 9:40 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FGF | Norman | 6 hr |
| Aug 8, 9:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Wilkin | 44 min |
| Aug 8, 9:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Clearwater, Polk | 28 min |
| Aug 8, 10:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Becker, Beltrami, Hubbard | 60 min |
| Aug 8, 10:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clearwater, Mahnomen | 47 min |
| Aug 8, 10:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Otter Tail, Wadena | 53 min |
| Aug 8, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Hubbard | 30 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.